Africa may show us first what happens when a continent splits in two. Image credit – Gemini Africa appears to be relatively stable geologically. However, many forces are at play underneath the surface of the continent, resulting in its break-up. And scientists claim this is proceeding faster than expected. In millions of years, this process…
Meet the 400-year-old shark that might be older than America. Image credit – Wikimedia A shark that may be older than the United States generated massive interest in one of the most unique animals inhabiting our oceans. Shockingly, this theory has been backed by various experts who claim it may be accurate.As it turns out,…
The discovery of Viking presence in North America, initially hinted at by local lore and confirmed by the Ingstads’ archaeological work at L’Anse aux Meadows, has been precisely dated to AD 1021. Image Credits: Evidence for European presence in the Americas in ad 1021 study/ Extended Data Fig. 5. Pictures of the wood items studied…
A remarkable discovery at New South Wales’ Willandra Lakes unearthed Mungo Lady, revealing 42,000-year-old cremation rituals, predating ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations. Image Credits: via Wikimedia Commons There is a sombre ambience about the Willandra Lakes of New South Wales. The landscape is dotted with dried-up lake beds, and it has the impressive formations known…
Scientists discovered a 46-million-year-old mosquito fossil in Montana. This ancient insect was perfectly preserved in shale, not amber. Its abdomen held its last meal, confirmed by chemical tests. Image Credits: Hemoglobin-derived porphyrins preserved in a Middle Eocene blood-engorged mosquito study by PNAS Fig 1 For decades, the notion of a prehistoric mosquito entombed in a…
The Great Dish from the Mildenhall Treasure, weighing nearly 17 pounds of solid silver, is one of the most remarkable pieces of Roman craftsmanship ever found in Britain. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons It was 1942, the middle of World War II, and life in the English countryside had not slowed down. There were fields still…
The solid-gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun, recovered from his intact tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in 1922. Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons By the fall of 1922, Howard Carter was running on borrowed time and fumes. He had spent years sifting through Egypt’s fabled Valley of the Kings with little to show for it,…
Pieces of the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found.Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons Some days just feel like regular days, and then some days secretly aren’t. July 2009 began as one of the former for Terry Herbert. He was unemployed, he had a cheap metal detector, and permission to search a farmer’s field…
The species that outlasted empires: Porites rus, now at the centre of one of science’s most unexpected discoveries. Image Credits: Google Gemini Imagine three NBA basketball courts, side by side, at the bottom of the sea. Now, imagine that whole surface is one living coral colony, one that was already 500 years old when the…
Scientists scanned an Antarctic fossil and found clues to life before land animals. Image credit – Gemini Fish fossils from the Antarctic have been revealing a key stage in early animal evolution. Scientists are scanning the fossil for clues about life before the land animals. They claim that the discovery of Koharalepis jarviki can give…
Now there’s a $200k reward to stop this tiny water problem that could cost billions. Image credit – Wikimedia Boaters arriving at lakes across California may not notice anything unusual. However, this often overlooked boating habit has been posing a major threat across US lakes. Water managers are focused on a problem that is nearly…
Why scorpions have metal in their stingers and claws. Image credit – Wikimedia Scorpions are always judged for their venom. Their distinctive curved tails and stingers make these species among the most recognisable predators in the animal world. For years, researchers have focused on the chemical properties of scorpion venoms. However, new studies demonstrate that…
